By Angie Johnson-Schmit

Most people can’t pinpoint the precise moment they found their calling, but aviation enthusiast and educator Sean Jeralds can. Jeralds was in high school when he saw “a car going eastbound on US Route 30 in Northwest Indiana” with an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) sticker. It kicked off a journey that led Jeralds to the Prescott, AZ campus of ERAU, where he currently serves as an Associate Professor of Aeronautical Science. Perhaps even more surprising, it started him on the path to building his own airplane.

Growing up under the approach path to Chicago Midway International Airport, airplanes were a normal part of everyday life for Jeralds. His father was a heavy equipment operator and Jeralds always “liked machines and driving and…bulldozers and getting to operate this stuff as a kid.” It was a natural extension of his interest to turn to airplanes and flight.

While he insists he “can’t put (his) finger on one thing,” Jeralds spent much of his childhood preoccupied with flying, airplanes and space. From building model rockets and airplanes, to an interest in birds, he was obsessed with anything related to flying. The moon landings and Apollo missions expanded Jeralds’ interest to include space flight. He remembers watching a live recovery mission in grade school and being fascinated by the space program. “I ended up being an amateur Apollo history lunatic after that,” said Jeralds.

When asked what it was about the ERAU sticker that got him so excited, he said, “it was the word aeronautical.”

Shortly after his ERAU sticker sighting, Jeralds paid a visit to his high school guidance counselor’s office. They reviewed an ERAU information packet together and confirmed his grades were going to be a challenge. “I was too busy playing…and my grades weren’t good enough,” said Jeralds. With the possibility of a scholarship off the table, paying for a private university was not an option. Undeterred, Jeralds looked for other ways to reach his dream.

His search for alternatives led him to choose Purdue Calumet University in Hammond, IN, where he got into computer programming. There was a flight program at Purdue, but Jeralds knew with his poor grades it was unlikely he would be accepted. Instead, he lived at home and worked while completing his degree. He stayed focused on his goal to get to ERAU and made sure to include courses he knew would fit into ERAU’s degree program.

Three years into his coursework at Purdue, Jeralds had a bit of an “ah-ha” moment. He was working late at night in the computer programming lab when he realized he was simply not happy and something needed to change. “I looked around, I’m like, what am I doing? I do not want to be here,” said Jeralds. He realized, “I want to be in an airplane, I want to learn about airplanes.” A week later he applied to ERAU.

While thrilled to be accepted into the ERAU program at the Florida campus, Jeralds wanted to study at the Arizona campus. He had visited Florida before and loved the water. “I was worried I would spend too much time on the beach…and I was worried that it would distract,” said Jeralds. The Prescott, AZ campus offered a different kind of adventure that kicked off when he arrived in 1986.

Never afraid to dream big, Jeralds’ original plan was to graduate from ERAU, rack up 2,000 hours of jet time, apply to NASA and command the first landing on Mars. He set to work on achieving that goal as soon as he graduated.

Jeralds was on course to put his plan in motion when he got some unexpected news. During medical tests to qualify for a guard unit, he discovered he had a color deficiency that, while slight enough to have gone unnoticed for regular flight school, was enough to end his chances of being a jet pilot.

With NASA off the table and little interest in working as a commercial airline pilot, Jeralds looked for new ways to fuel his passion. He worked at ERAU as a flight instructor, and eventually became the chief flight instructor. “It was never part of the plan, but it turns out I like talking about airplanes and being around people that want to learn,” said Jeralds.

As a true flight fanatic, Jeralds is fascinated not only with piloting planes, but also the mechanics of the machines. While he was frequently asked when he would get his own plane, Jeralds was initially uninterested. “I don’t need an airplane,” Jeralds recalled answering. “I’ve got 50 of them (airplanes) on the ramp that I get to fly.”

That attitude changed when he saw a photo of a Breezy airplane in the Smithsonian Air and Space magazine. “It hit me like a ton of bricks,” said Jeralds. “I’m like, what airplane is this? And that was an overwhelming feeling.”

Designed in 1964 by Charles Roloff, Carl Unger and Bob Liposky, the Breezy is a “kit” airplane famous for its lack of a traditional cockpit. “It was kind of like what’s called a Curtiss pusher,” a 1911

aircraft that has the engine and propeller located behind the pilot’s chair. Jeralds was immediately hooked, purchased plans from Carl Unger, and set out to build his own Breezy.

Jeralds spent quite a bit of time building his Breezy in Yakima, Washington, working with experts through the Builder’s Assistance Project. During construction, Jeralds would pitch a tent in the grass in the warmer months. In the winter, he slept in the hanger under the tail of the plane.

A major part of his fascination with the airplane is the “no cockpit” feature. “It’s just you, and you don’t even see the wings,” said Jeralds. He went on to describe it as “being in an IMAX (movie theater), but it’s for real.” The plane can fly up to 22,000 feet, but Jeralds typically flies it closer to around 1,000 feet so he and his passenger can better experience the incredible views.

He is a self-described flying “addict,” noting that as soon as he lands, he is already thinking about his next flight. When he can’t take an actual plane out, he uses different technology. “I’ve got the Virtual Reality (VR) set up so I can fly, and that’s been almost every night,” said Jeralds. He enjoys the gaming aspect of flying combat in the VR world, but he already has his sights on another building project to satisfy his obsession.

The plane has an unusual shape with a flat, circular body based on a circular wing concept. Designed by Charles H. Zimmerman, it is reminiscent of a classic UFO spaceship shape. “It’s from a Mechanix Illustrated magazine, I think in 1953, that shows a mom and dad and the kids, and they’re in a version of this thing flying out of their backyard basically straight up,” he said.

Cool factor aside, the allure for Jeralds is the short field takeoff and landing of the V-173, as well as the carrying capacity. “You can do 200 miles an hour, carry two people and 2,000 lbs., and take off and land in 20 feet,” said Jeralds. He sees it as fulfilling a niche need in the airplane world, but admits that his biggest motivation is that he wants “this really cool thing to exist in the world,” pointing out that it has the potential to be turned into an electric hybrid aircraft.

It’s been a long, strange journey from the Midwest to Prescott, AZ, for Jeralds. Things may not have gone as he had originally planned, but his passion for flight has remained unchanged. If anything, he seems to get a real kick out of “infecting” others with the joys of flying while continuing to explore the possibilities of aviation and airplane design. Jeralds may not have made it to Mars, but he continues to climb to new heights in interesting ways.